I had never heard of boiling corned beef until I had it in college. I know a lot of people love it prepared that way, but the way they did it in the cafeteria scarred me for life. Growing up, my dad always seared it first on the stove, then he’d sprinkle on the package of seasoning that came with the meat, wrap it loosely in a tin foil packet and let it slowly braise in it’s own juices for hours. The deep penetrating smell of the coriander, bay leaves, allspice would perfume the house. The beef would come out tender and succulent. If you’ve never made corned beef this way, you are in for a treat!
Corned beef is a brisket. That means it’s cut from the chest of the steer just above the legs. It’s a muscle that does a lot of work so it’s incredibly tough and needs to be cooked a long time and at low temperatures to get it to the point where it just melts in your mouth.
Letting it braise like this in it’s own juices is so good you’ll want to make it like this all year round. We sure do! It’s always a good idea to make extra too. The meat shrinks quite a bit and you’ll want leftovers for sandwiches the next day. It makes a killer ruben on rye!
As the beef cooks slowly, it gives off lots of fragrant juices. After it’s done, strain off this liquid and use it to boil your cabbage. Dish it up with a side of honey glazed carrots, steamed new potatoes, and cabbage and you’ve got a steaming plate fit for an Irish feast.
Once you try corned beef slowly braised like this in the oven, you’ll be hard pressed to put it in a pot of boiling water ever again.
Baked Corned Beef Brisket
Ingredients
- Corned beef 2 lbs
- Spice packet
Equipment
- baking sheet
- tin foil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275ºF.
- Sprinkle spice packet over corned beef and loosely wrap in tin foil.
- Place on baking sheet and bake on a lower level for 6 hours.
- Open foil and turn oven to broil and allow fat to cook off, approximately 10-15 minutes.
- Turn oven to 350ºF and cook for another 30 min.
Aren’t you wonderful! You bring back so many memories. I love you, Dad